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For the 23 Maple Leafs who open the regular season Tuesday night in Montreal, there’s a feeling of elation and confidence. They know they’ve “made it.” The Star checked in with five of them: Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Bernier, Morgan Rielly, Dave Bolland and Mark Fraser. Here are their stories:

NAZEM KADRI

The ‘original Nazem Kadri’

“It’s not all butterflies and rainbows, as people might think.

“Sometimes, things don’t go well and that’s where you find out what kind of person you are. My old man, he’s been the go-to support valve for me my whole life. I came highly touted but he taught me the whole mentality thing, about being strong mentally and not letting someone get to you. Basically, don’t let anyone take you away from what you believe in yourself.

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“My grandfather emigrated from Lebanon and he didn’t know anybody here. There were seven kids and there was a big language barrier back then. . . . My dad built up his business, it’s called Automotive Tech, but he built it himself. Sometimes the money didn’t end up where it should, there was a lot of depression to deal with. But he didn’t quit, he had a family to take care of and he kept with it.

“My grandfather, he came here and it wasn’t like he had a top education or anything like that. It was tough for my dad growing up like that but they all worked hard and kept at it, and I think that’s where I got my work ethic from and I know it’s helped me as a player and a person along the way.”

“My grandfather’s name is Nazem. I’m named after him actually. He’s the original Nazem Kadri.”

JONATHAN BERNIER

Thanks bro . . . I think

“One of the biggest things is obviously hard work. If you think you’re too good for the league you’re in, you will never advance. And my main focus is to dominate whatever league I’m in, and have fun. . . . You should focus on dominating and having fun, that’s the main things.”

“My brother (Marc-Andre), he’s 3 ½ years older than me, he was a forward and he kind of left the footsteps so I could follow them. He helped me out a lot in my rookie season in junior and in the NHL. You never really know what’s going on when you are young like that. . . . He got a lot of injuries and he didn’t have the career he would have liked to have. He worked at it and now he’s playing in France.

“But we played together a lot growing up. We played in the street and on the rinks. I’m not sure a lot of people know but he scored the first goal against me in junior. I was 16 and I was with the Lewiston Maniacs and he was with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.”

MORGAN RIELLY

Home cooking and homesickness

“One hundred per cent, it was my mom’s home-cooked meals. That’s what I missed and, to be honest, that’s what helped me a lot along the way.

“She always took care of me when I was younger, she made sure I was fed, and she cooked everything I liked. . . . When you think of that, it was like a full-time job itself. Being around my parents all the time was a huge bonus for me as I was (developing as a hockey player).

“You basically have to do whatever it takes. My dream was to play in this league, to play in the NHL. I’m closer to that accomplishment. I guess (a sacrifice was), when I was in Grade 8, I made the choice to move from home and go play hockey on the Prairies (at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask.).

“Then it was Moose Jaw in junior hockey so I was away from home since Grade 8. I was 14 years old then. It was tough. A lot of the people I hung out with, they were at cottages in summer behaving like kids. I left home and moved into a dorm (at Notre Dame), and I didn’t know what to expect. But I knew I had to work hard, that’s what I was there for.

DAVE BOLLAND

Work ethic

“I think what finally put me over the top was realizing how the game is played. When you’re finally in pro hockey, you have to see it’s not all offence-offence. . . . You might have scored a lot of goals somewhere as a kid or in junior hockey, or wherever else you played. It’s the defensive zone that really matters and that’s hard to learn. But that helped me a lot. It didn’t come easy either: I had to work on it in juniors and the minors, but that’s the thing that got me here.”

“And practice doesn’t come easy, you have to get up early yourself and just get focused and get going. It’s harder than you think. There’s no going out on the ice and lallygagging around, it’s serious all the time. You have to be focused and you have to be very serious if you want to make it. It’s a battle in itself.”

MARK FRASER

A shot at junior

“I tried to get on a scholarship in U.S. college hockey, and unfortunately things got real political on my team and everything fell through for me.

“I got to Kitchener and I got exposure to the scouts. That was during the lockout (in 2004-05), and there were a ton of scouts around there because there wasn’t any NHL hockey. We had some good teams too. There was Mike Richards, Matt Lashoff . . . David Clarkson was there and a lot of other guys. I got my exposure and I was captain when I was 19.

“At 20, I had seven call-ups to the (New Jersey) Devils. I really remember trying to get a scholarship in ’04-05, and by ’07, I’m being called up into NHL games.

“I even remember skipping school one day and me and my dad went to the Westin Hotel in Ottawa to meet Steve Spott and see what the Rangers could offer us. That was pretty cool.

“That was pretty amazing for my parents too. We’re a religious family and my parents were praying for something for me when things went south. . . . And that’s when the Kitchener opportunity came along. My dad ran track for Canada — Hugh Fraser — and my brother Curtis ran at track at the University of North Carolina, so that background helped me a lot too.”

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